Shanghai implements e-cigarette ban on metro trains, stations

E-cigarettes will be completely banned in metro stations and trains in Shanghai, according to the new version of the Shanghai Metro Passenger Code of Conduct that will be implemented effective March 1.

Forbidding not only traditional cigarettes but also e-cigarettes, the updated code of conduct will be aligned with the Shanghai Regulations on Smoking Control in Public Places, further enhancing interdepartmental cooperation in the city's tobacco control efforts.

The Shanghai Regulations on Smoking Control in Public Places took effect in March 2010, and has been revised twice. In November 2016, a complete ban on indoor smoking was included. In October 2022, e-cigarettes were included in the ban on smoking in public places.

According to the revised Shanghai Bus Riding Rules, e-cigarettes have been banned on buses since December 2021.

Since 2010, the incidence of smoking at legally designated non-smoking places in Shanghai has dropped from 37.5 percent to 13 percent, and the adult smoking rate has dropped by 7.7 percentage points to 19.2 percent, reaching the target set in the Healthy China 2030 Initiative ahead of schedule.

According to a white paper released by the Shanghai Patriotic Health Campaign Committee Office earlier this month, 98.3 percent of Shanghai residents support the comprehensive smoking bans.